Folks anxious to see the area economy improve often view good news from Raleigh as a harbinger of better times to come locally. Gaston County makes up part of the overall jobless numbers after all.

But while the unemployment rate for North Carolina has been below 10 percent for most of the year, Gaston has lagged behind, only falling into single digits for one month, April, before rising again to above 10 percent.

And October joblessness has outpaced Septemberís in Gaston County every year since 2008, when the increases began their alarming stair-step increases that took us nearly to 15 percent in early 2010.

Anyone looking for good news in the numbers can find it, however.

Unemployment in Gaston has decreased more often than it increased this year, for five out of the nine months reported anyway. The North Carolina numbers bear out the same stats, although a statewide drop doesnít always signal a decrease in Gaston.

Joblessness here actually rose during four of the months when state numbers fell or stayed the same.

On average, too, Gaston stays a full percentage point above the state in unemployment numbers. Should that trend continue, Gaston is on track to see a slight jump in unemployment for October.